Explosive changes in the investing world are transforming investor relations.

Building a company’s visibility is only the first step toward fair valuation. Public equity markets are undergoing unprecedented change, driven by information and intelligence. They’re increasingly dynamic and even volatile. Global economic uncertainty. A strident regulatory environment. Bank consolidations and M&A. Shrinking sell-side coverage. Individual investors?rights and shareholder activism. A company’s fate is less predictable than ever before.

The most successful public companies manage IR to build market value for the long term. They educate analysts and investors in the peculiar cycles of their business. They set and reset expectations consistently. They minimize the impact of bad news on the stock. They maintain management’s credibility through the inevitable peaks, valleys and vagaries of quarterly performance.

Managing Expectations to Build Market Value

The quarter has just ended. Securities analysts and their institutional clients are expecting earnings per share of 9 cents. Your current assessment is that you may reach 6 cents, but are more likely to make 4.